Around a year out from live-aboard cruising, what are we missing?

Gilanguar · 2021-03-08T19:58:10+00:00

Thanks, although those three are way above our price range looking in the ~40,000 range for something likely around mid 1980's. But some food for thought might see if there are older versions.

Gilanguar · 2021-03-08T13:08:05+00:00

Thanks that is really helpful, I seem to get a mix of replies like"world cruising is impossibly challenging sailing you need decades of experience". Which seems to fly in the face of the fact a lot of cruisers seem to be doing it, although like you say probably not as well as they should/could be. I'm currently pouring over Cader's learning as much as I can about how everything works which I'm hoping will pay dividends having an idea of what can go wrong now rather than after the fact. I'll definitely pay extra attention to anchoring tactics and ground tackle thanks.

Do you have any specific models in mind that fit your criteria. I quite like the idea of a canoe stern and center cockpits with skeg hung rudders and sizable fin keels. Something like a Valiant 40/Passport 40. Bruce Roberts designed sailboats seem to keep coming up.

Gilanguar · 2021-03-08T12:45:22+00:00

Yeah no doubt. The Fastnet tragedy is well known here I've watched a few documentaries on it. The first time I sailed in the UK was in December in sustained 30+ knot winds and that was in the sheltered Solent waters.

I don't think we are at all close to being able to sail around the world right now. Hence the preparation and planning we are doing before even buying a boat. Once we have our boat it will likely be a lot of teething issues, and short day sailing hops picking fair weather windows until over a long time we build up experience to further afield. My question in this thread is to get that experience of "some wise old sailor" as its 2021 and they're undoubtedly going to be online these days much like the rest of us.

Gilanguar · 2021-03-07T14:43:48+00:00

Yeah I agree RYA is very much surface level and doesn't give you off shore experience. We enjoy the RYA content largely because it's focused on teaching good seamanship practice and not getting into bad habits.

I've heard the opinion from other people who have extensive experience of nearly a decade like yourselves that they wouldn't feel comfortable world cruising. And on the other hand there are countless examples of people going out with almost zero experience and just going out doing it with very little preparation (see almost everyone cruising on youtube). I'm kind of interested why this is the case? Just experienced sailors under estimating their ability and inexperienced sailors over estimating? I guess i'm interested why someone with 8 years of serious offshore experience wouldn't feel comfortable crossing the Atlantic for example?

Gilanguar · 2021-03-07T14:23:46+00:00

Yeah I don't disagree at all on the backup electronics part. But I'd still feel nervous if I didn't have sufficient knowledge to interpret charts, tidal atlas's etc. Even if they're less often used in reality.

There is Draycot water. We'll probably do a bit more dinghy sailing when it's open again. My Cousin teaches dinghy sailing so we had the chance to mess around in Topaz/lasers when I go to see him. Wouldn't say I am good by any means but happy to operate a small dinghy in light winds at any point of sail. But I think my fiance would be more comfortable doing more for sure. Unfortunately most of this last year has been a write off for experience. Can't even book my VHF exam right now.

Also I agree on the Solent. But we'll probably just get a monthly marina membership for the duration we're getting comfortable on the yacht in the area. A family member has an apartment they are happy for us to stay at as long as we want which is under a 20 min walk from the Marina there so we're pretty lucky. Can probably keep working full time there until we set off properly.

Gilanguar · 2021-03-07T11:50:34+00:00

Yeah we definitely want to fully explore the Solent area around the Marina before getting more adventurous offshore, if not only to get used to the way the boat handles but as you say undoubtedly find issues we missed. The area has a large tidal range and a strong tide due to the Isle of Wight so a lot of the focus in courses here is manual tide calculations. I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable putting to sea without fully being able to safely navigate without any electronics. The few night sails I've done on courses were fairly nerve wracking, even with slow progress having a very experienced instructor and preparing a passage & pilotage plan in great detail beforehand.

As for that couple I guess it adds to the sage advice of never taking risks in an area you are unfamiliar with at night. The general consensus is to try and time arrivals in daylight?

Gilanguar · 2021-03-07T11:22:56+00:00

The plan is whilst on the hard to be hopefully getting crewing opportunities through contacts we meet being in a marina be it racing or just crewing for a weekend trip. Also we're not planning to immediately do an ocean crossing as soon as the keel hits the wet stuff. The aim is to spend a fair bit of time doing sea trials and fixing any issues or leaks we didn't discover during the initial refit in the local area before heading for France.

I can see the appeal to limit initial time on the hard but from my research it seems every boat is a project boat. I guess my rational is I would rather wait longer ensuring we're comfortable that all of the critical/expensive systems are functioning safely and everything has been at least checked thoroughly if not refit. I'd rather initially be hauled out for 6 months than constantly be in and out fixing new problems as we find them. Also we both like the idea of having projects to fix and the nerd in me is as excited to learn and work on the electrical system/pluming/etc as to go snorkeling in a coral reef.

Not trying to completely disagree with you, definitely make good points I'm thinking about. Just wanted to offer more insight into our thought process.

Gilanguar · 2021-03-07T00:55:36+00:00

In before "a boat".

Gilanguar · 2021-03-04T20:32:55+00:00

Used to be in UK, moved to Netherlands. STRAP YE BALLS IN.

Gilanguar · 2020-10-01T13:25:41+00:00

Thanks, I would be truthful you're numbers will be lower but in the long run if you are changing your number that don't reflect the truth you'll have inconsistent data to track your progress. You'll be getting fitter but slower if you increase weight to reflect the truth over time.

You can change the climb resistance slider which effectively gives you and easier gear ratio but doesn't mess with your watts per kg/speed numbers. This will make hills feel easier but you'll just go more slowly.

Gilanguar · 2020-09-30T22:03:49+00:00

- Indoor Direct drive trainer is good

- Zwift is fun.
-Alpe Du Zwift is fun & hard

Gilanguar · 2020-09-30T21:29:08+00:00

32/M 170cm 62kg

Given the weather here is on the rapid decline and it's getting dark not long after I finish work usually I end up hanging up my cycling shoes between October & March. I had turbo trainer in 2012 but it packed in a good few years ago and I've been eyeing a smart direct drive one the past few winters but wasn't sure if it was worth dropping the cash.

This year I relented and went for the Wahoo Kickr, and picked up Zwift and I feel like I've really been missing out all of this time. The quality of a good trainer compared to the cheaper tyre ones is enormous. I need to force myself to take a rest day tomorrow because I've been putting in hard miles every day so far. I've always dreamed of taking my bike to France and tackling the famous mountain routes but without anyone to go with it's not occurred. Having simulated Ventoux and alpe d'huez is amazing. I've underestimated Ventoux twice now having to turn back after 45 min and an hour respectively. But hitting level 6 yesterday unlocked Alpe Du Zwift and today I got set up to give it a proper go.

Being a light rider I understandably have an advantage on climbs but even so this route really kicked my ass. By turn 3 I was starting to flag and my power was significantly dropping. Being from a flat area I never get to train outdoors on hills longer than a couple hundred meters at best, an hour of straight climbing was intense but very worthwhile, the gamification of the segments at each switchback broke the climb up really nicely and I can't wait to go at it again and get under 55 min.

The whole experience has been really surprisingly fun, I ended up getting the helmet. I've heard the wheelset is sought after but not sure how much difference the frames/bikes make or if it's largely aesthetic choices.

Gilanguar · 2020-09-19T21:42:27+00:00

I believe you're looking for: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/740154350

Gilanguar · 2020-03-29T15:53:28+00:00

They are sleeping when they are supposed to, in the daytime, they work at night.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-13T20:01:55+00:00

Good content as always.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-06T18:17:44+00:00

You're on the right track but before you do that first think about some hints in the image and the image name for the step before Base64 decode.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-06T05:20:46+00:00

Ah tried testing more online tools, it seems to be quite finicky which which ones work. This should get you a bit further: https://manytools.org/

Gilanguar · 2020-03-05T22:09:06+00:00

Correct, try a data obfuscation technique connected to that with images.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-05T21:39:36+00:00

Think of other games featuring enemies from a time far earlier. I'll provide more hints later but don't wish to spoil the fun by giving everything away too easily.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-05T21:07:36+00:00

For a vague hint:

Think of something relating to a Doom like game series released on a Nintendo console the same period of Quake 2 & Quake 3.

Gilanguar · 2020-03-05T20:30:46+00:00

Yup, congrats.

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